Road planer or drag



Aug. 27, R935. F. E. ARNDT ROAD PLANER OR DRAG 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ori igal Filed Aug. 26, 19

Original Filed Au 26, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwuantoz 1935. F. E. ARNDT 2,012,463

ROAD PLANER OR DRAG Original Filed Aug. 26, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 gmenloz Patented Aug. 27, 1935 Franklin E. Arndt, Gallon, Ohio, a'ssignorto The Galion Iron Works ,& Mfg. Galion, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application August 26, 1930, Serial No.:477,875 Renewed November 9, 1933 V 15 cla ms, (01137-153) This invention relates to road scrapers and particularly to road drags of that character wherein a fore truck is used and a scraper sup! porting frame is used pivotally supported adjaa cent its forward ends upon the fore truck, and

for vertical adjustment, the rear of the supporting frame being mounted upon wheels for vertical adjustment, the fore truck being adapted to be connected to a tractor and the frame supporting the scrapers to be adjusted vertically by means located adjacent the driving station of the tractor.

One object of the present invention is to'provide a cranked axle for the rear wheels and provide means whereby the cranked axle may be raised or lowered and particularly to provide means whereby the cranks on the axle may be adjusted relative to the axle itself soas to cause the supporting frame to be raised at one side higher than the other to permit the drag to be used on a crown road or for crowning, and a further object in this connection is to provide a device of this character which may be readily'adjusted and readily held in adjusted position.

Another object is to provide improved means 25, whereby a single control may be used for raising or lowering simultaneously the forward and rear ends of the frame and whereby the connections for lifting the forward'end of the frame may be so adjusted as to permit the frame to be rela- 30 tively tilted for crowning purposes.

Other objects will appear in the course of the: following description. i 1 7 My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,Awherein:- l

35. Figures 1 and 1a together constitute a side elevation of a drag or planer constructed-in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of he rear portion of the drag or planer; v

40 V Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section" on the line 3-3 of Figure 2; 1 i Figure 4 is an elevation of the segment and wheel supporting arm, the shaftbeing in section; Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional View 45 through the casing which houses the gear assembly for vertically adjusting the rear frame; and

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6- 6 of Figure la.

Figure 7 is a section on the line.1. "l of Fig- .50 ure 2.

' Referring to these drawings, l0 designates longitudinal beams of a scraper supporting frame, these beams being connected by suitable transverse beams H at any desired intervals a'ndcarb5 rying scraper blades l2 and a rear adjustable scraper blade l3 as described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 477,876 filed on the 26th day of August,-1930. i

The fore truck is designated generally l4 and carries, cf'course, the forward wheels 15. This 5 fore truck has the tongue. l6 whereby it may be connected to the tractor. Draw bars I! are connected to the fore truck by a fifth wheel connection .I8,"these draw bars extending upward and then downward and rearward and being piv- 10 otally connected to upwardly extending irons or ears IS on the beams 10. It will be understood that the draftbars are connected at intervals by cross beams 20 at any suitable points.

The forward end of the frame which includes 15 the beams 10 is connected to chains 2| in turn connected tojstrap links 22 which are provided with a series of bolt holes. These are connected to forwardly extending arms '23 mounted upon a transverse, shaft 24 carried bythe draft bars. 20 This shaft is actuated by a gear 25 engaged by a pinion 26 on the shaft 21 which carries a worm wheel engaged by a worm' 28. The shaft 24 is also provided with an upwardly and rearwardly extending cam 29 connected by a chain 30 to a 5 spring 3| this spring in turn being connected by the linked rod 32 to an angle 33 mounted upon therear frame andmorespecifically connected to the beams l6 midway of the length of these beams, this spring 3| acting to urge the 30 shaft 24 in a direction-to lift upward on the blade or, scraper supporting frame. The worm 28 is connected to manually operable controlling means as will be later stated.

It should be understood that while I have 11- 35 lustrated only onecrank arm 23 connected by the adjustablestrap link 22 and the chain 2| to themultiple bladed structure comprising the frame 10, a similar arrangement is mounted on the opposite side of the machine, there being a 40 crank arm 23 at each end of the transverse shaft 24. g The gear 25 and'the rearwardlyextending arm 29are'secured to the transverse shaft intermediate the'ends of the latter. It will thus be seen thatby means of, the adjustment mechanism associated with the rear wheels, as shown in- Figs. 2, 3 and 4,; transverse tilting of the rear portion of the frame I 0 may be effected, and by means of the adjusting mechanism shown in Fig. la, transverse tilting of the forward portion of the frame I 0 may be effected. Such transverse tilting is particularly desirable for road crowning purposes. By means of the worm gearing connections 28 and 42 to the transverse shafts 24 and 34, either shaft may be rocked independently of so that these sectors will turn with the shaft..,

Loosely mounted upon each shaft inward of the sectors are the crank arms 36;. each carrying a.

rear wheel 3?.

Each sector 35 has the outwardly projecting lugs 38 through which pass the screws 39 which engage on opposite faces of the corresponding arm 36. A screw 39* passes through an aperture formed in the middle of the sector (or a plurality of apertures disposed in a: series transverse to the arm 36') thisscrew 39 acting as a set screw to assist in holding the corresponding arm 36 in proper adjusted engagement with the corresponding sector 35.- For' the'purpose of rotating the shaft 34, I mount upon the shaft the segment gear 40 engaged by the pinion 41 mounted upon a shaft carrying a worm wheel which is engaged by a worm 42; 'The: shaft 34 also carries an upstanding lever 43 from which extends a tension means comprising the chain 44 the spring 45 and the link 46. Said link 46 is anchored to the forward end of the frame III by an angle iron-l M1 The nut 48, screw-threaded on said link it,v provides for adjustment of the tension of thespring 45-. Similar means provide for adjustable tension on the spring 3|; Inthe rotation of the shaft 34 to increase the height of the frame it above the ground, the tension of the spring 55' tends toreduce the work necessary to perform this operation assaid spring 45 is tensioned to aid such movement.

It will be seen that the spring 45'- actsto turn the shaft 3! in a clockwise direction so as to exert a downward and rearward depressing force on the arms 36 and thus lift or assist in lifting the scraper.

The shaft of the worm 4-2 is connected by a universal. joint 9 to a shaft section 50 which extends upward and forwardand has a universal joint connection to a shaft section 51 in turn extending upward and forward being: mounted in suitable supports upon the draw bars and being connected by a universal joint 52' to a control shaft 5% extending'into a casing 54 The worm 28 is connected by'auniversal joint 55' to a shaft section 56 whichv extends upward and forward and is connected by a universal joint 57 to a shaft section 58' parallel to the shaft section 53 and extending into the casing 54, as shown in Fig. 5.

Ehteringthe forward end of the casing isa control shaft 59 connected. by auniversal joint to a shaft section 68' extending forward and carrying a hand wheel, the shaft section being telescopic and having means whereby it" may be lengthened or shortened. The shaft 59 is l'ongitudinally slidable within the head of the casing 5t and carries upon it a gear wheel 6! adapted to mesh with a gear-wheel EZkeyed onshaft 53 or with a loose gear wheel 63 meshing with a gear wheel 6% on shaft 58 oriwith gears 62 and 83 simultaneously. The shaft section 59, as before stated, is slidableto thesethree positions. In the position shown in Figure 5, thegear wheel 6| meshes both with the gear wheel 62 and the gear wheel 63 and thus rotation is communicated, through gear wheel 62 to shaft 53 and through gear wheel 63 to shaft 58. If the shaft 59 be shoved forward to its forwardmost position, it will disengage from gear wheel 62 to engage gear wheel 63 and thus the rotation of shaft 59 will cause a rotation only of shaft 58 but not cause any rotation of shaft 53. When the shaft 59 is pulled rearward to its full extent, the gear wheel 6| will engage gear wheel 62, but not gear wheel 63 and, therefore, the shaft 53 will be operated but not the shaft 58.

To provide means whereby the shaft 59 may be yieldingly held in any of these three adjusted positions, I provide the shaft 5% with three grooves 59 and form the hub which projects from the head of the casing 54 with a spring pressed detent ball 5% engageable in any one of these grooves. t will be seen that by means of this mechanismy either' series of shaft sections leading tothetwo worms maybe operated or both of them maybe operated at the same time and either or bothv of thelifting mechanisms may be actuated, either separately or at the same time.

When it is desired to use this drag on a crowned road or in crowning a road, it is necessary, of course, that one side of the frame should be lowered relative to the other side of the frame and to: this end, I have provided the adjustable links 2.2iand the means which I have described with relation to the arms 36' whereby the arms may be turned. with relation to the shaft 3 5. By turning the arm from a middle position, it is obvious that that side of the frame will be lowered.

To accomplish this, the screw 39 is loosened and then one of the screws 39 is backed off while theother screw is turned inward until the angular adjustment of the arm 36' relative to the shaft 34'. has been made and then the lock nuts on the screw 39: are turned home, thus locking the screws in: their adjusted position and then the binding screw 3% isturned home, thus holding the corresponding segment 35 in its adjusted relation to the arm. 36. Thereafter when the rear frame is raised or lowered, the frame will move practically evenly at front. and rear, but one side of the frame will always be lowered relative to the opposite side of the frame until the parts are readjusted so that the scraper supporting frame is horizontal.

This raising or lowering of the frame both at front and rear is assisted by the equalizing springs 3| and d5 which equalizes the strain upon the lifting. mechanism.

The shafttfl at its forward end extends through a bearing 65 adjustably mounted upon a vertical support 66 connected to bracket 5'! mounted upon tongue l6. Thus the tongue it may be raised or lowered or vertically adjusted to suit tractors of difierent heights and at the same time the shaft 6i] may be kept'in a horizontal position or disposed in the most convenient position for the operator standing upon the tractor which is connected to the tongue 56 and disposed immediately in ad- Vanceof the scraper. The tongue is shown as being supported by a spring 68 connected by shackle plate 69 to the forward end of the draw bars.

' I have not attempted to describe all the braces,v

truss rods and. other like parts and these are obvious and furthermore might be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention as, defined in the appended claims.

While I have illustrated means for raising or lowering the front and rear ends of the frame formed of the members. [Din connection with a drag or planer, I do not wish to be limited tothis use, as it might be applied to other-implements of like general character.-' 1 i It will be notedthat I have provided a one piece axle and that I mount upon theextremities of this axle the crank arms supportingthe rear wheels, these crank arms being loosely'mounted in the axle. By using a one-piece axlefI render the structure much more rigid'than-if a two piece axle were used with'means for Separately adjusting each axle. v V v It will also be seenthat-by on'ehand wheel, the driver ;can control all' adjustments of the blades without leaving the station or tractor and that I have provided a four wheel drag or planer which may be easily handled and in which the blades are quickly adjusted to varying ground conditions, thus permitting the" operator to" raise the blades for soft spots or utilize the weight of the machine when the road is hard. Itwill likewise be seen that the arched draw bars permit the planer or drag to be turned'at a relatively short radius. 9

While I have illustrated a construction which has been found to be particularly effective in actual practice, I do not wish to be limited to the details except as stated in the appended claims.

-l. In a'road planer or drag, a rear blade supporting frame, a fore truck having draw bars pivotally connected at their'rear ends to the rear frame, a transversely extending axle on the rear frame, crank arms loose on the axle and carrying supporting wheels, mechanism on the fore truck for raising or lowering the forward end of the frame, mechanism on the frame for oscillating said axle to thereby raise or lower the frame, manually controlled means for operating both of said mechanisms, means whereby the crank arms may be independently shifted around the axle and held in shifted position, and meanswhereby. one side or the other of theforward end of the rear frame may be raised or lowered relative to the'lifting mechanism therefor; J J l 2. In a road planer or drag, a rear blade supporting frame, a fore truck having draw bars pivotally connected at their rear ends to the rear frame, atransversely extending axle on the rear frame, crank arms loosely mounted upon the ends of the axle-and carrying supporting wheels, a shaft on the fore truck having arms operatively connected to the forward end of the frame, mechanism on the rear framefor oscillating the axle thereof ,to thereby raise or lower the rear frame, manually controlled means for oscillating said first named shaft'and mechanism for oscillating said axle, and means whereby thecrank arms may be independently shifted around the axle and held in shifted position, and means whereby the operative connections at the opposite ends of the shaft may be shortened or lengthened to thus raise one side or the other of the forward end of the rear frame.

3. Ina road planer or drag, a rear blade supporting frame, a fore truck having upwardly arched draw bars pivotally connected at their rear ends to the rear frame, wheels supporting the fore truck and relative to which the fore truck is rotatable in a horizontal plane, a transversely extending axle on the rear frame, crank arms loosely carried thereon, supporting wheels mounted on the crank arms, a shaft on the fore truck having arms adjustably connected to the forward end of the rear frame, operating shafts.

extending longitudinally one for'the arm carrying shaft and onefor said axle, and operatively engaged therewith to rotate-the shaft and axle respectively, asingle manually operable means for rotating both of said shafts simultaneously,

and means whereby the crank arms on the rear shaft may be independently shifted around the axle and held in shifted position.

4. In a road planer or drag, a rear blade supporting frame, a shaft extending transversely across said frame, radially disposed wheel supported crankarms loosely mounted on the shafts adjacent the ends thereof, segmental members mounted upon the shaft to turn therewith" and having adjustable set" screws bearing on opposite edge faces ofeach arm whereby to'rotatively adjust either arm relative to'the shaft.

5. In 'a road planer or drag,'a rear blade sup porting frame, a shaft extending transversely across said'frame, radially disposed wheel supported crank arms loosely mounted on the shafts adjacent the ends thereof, segmental members mounted upon the shaft to turn therewith and having adjustable set screws bearing onoppositej edge faces of each arm whereby to rotatively adjust either arm relative to the shaft, each segmental member having a set screw passing through the segmental member and bearing against thefa'ce of the corresponding arm; l

l 6. In a 'road" planer, a rear blade supporting frame, a fore truck having draw bars pivotally connected therewith, an axle mounted on the supportingframe and having radial arms carrying supporting wheels, "a shaft mounted on the fore truck and having radial arms operatively connected to opposite sides of the forward end of the frame, worm wheels associated with the shaft and axle respectively and operatively geared thereto, worm shafts extending rearward from the worm wheels, a gear case into whichboth of said worm shafts extend, an operating shaft extending into the gear case and having a gear wheel engaging 'a gear wheel on one of saidworm shafts, a gear wheel on the same worm shaft meshing with a gear wheel on theother worm shaft, and means for manually rotating .theoperatingshaft. V

' 7.. In'an'implement of the character described, asupporting frame, a fore truck'having draw bars connected to the supporting frame and including a bolster, a tongue operatively connected to the fore truck and adapted to be raised or lowered at its'forward end with reference to the fore truck, and a c'ontrollinglshaft extending out over the tongue and mounted for vertical swinging movement, a member extending upward from the tongue, and a bearing for said controlling shaft adjustably mounted upon said member whereby thetongue may be adjusted vertically to suit different heights of tractor and the controlling shaft be dispose in convenient position for operation.

' 8. In an implement of the character described, a supporting frame, a'f ore truck having draw bars pivotally connected to the frame, the fore truck including a bolster, 'a tongue connected to the bolster and extending forward therefrom, the frame ha'vinga fifth-wheel connection to the fore truck, a controlling shaft extending out over the tongue and formed of telescopic sections whereby the effective length of the shaft may be increased or decreased, a member extending upward from the tongue, and a bearing through which the controlling shaft passes and adjustably connected to said member.

9. In a road planer, a supporting frame, a blade carrying frame vertically movable with relation to the supporting frame, and means for raising or lowering the forward or rear ends of the blade carrying frame including two operating shafts having parallel portions, a housing into which the parallel portions of the shafts extend, a gear wheel keyed upon one of said shafts within the housing, a gear wheel loose'upon the other of said shafts in the housing, the second named gear wheel'being longer than the first named gear wheel and meshing therewith, a third gear wheel keyed upon the last named shaft, and a longitudinally shiftable controlling shaft entering the housing and a gear wheel thereon, said gear wheel in one posiiton of the longitudinally movable shaft meshing with both the second and the third named gear wheels, in another position of the shaft meshing with only the third named gear wheel and in still another position of the shaft meshing with only the second. named gear wheel, and means for yieldably detaining the longitudinally movable shaft in any one of its several positions to which it is shifted.

10. A vehicle comprising the combination with a framework, of a road working implement carried by the framework, a shaft extending transversely across the framework, crank levers connected with the shaft, wheels carried by said crank levers for supporting the framework, means enabling the crank levers to be independently adjusted relative to the shaft to enable a transverse tilting of the framework relatively to the horizontal for adjusting the road working implement relatively to a road surface for crowning operations upon'the surface, and mechanism for turning the said shaft to vary the elevation of the framework relative to the road surface for bringing the road working implement into and out of operative engagement with the road surface.

11. A road working machine comprising the combination with a frame, of a road working implement carried by the frame, a shaft ex tending transversely across the frame, wheels for supporting the frame and interconnected with the shaft, and mechanism for operating the shaft to adjust the elevation of the frame relative to a road surface for moving the road working implement into and out of engagement with the road surface, the said mechanism comprising a segmental gear secured to the axle, a pinion for operating the segmental gear, means for operating the pinion to effect operation of the gear, and equalizing means for facilitating adjustment of the frame.-

12. A vehicle comprising the combination with a frame, of road-working means carried thereby, a shaft extending transversely across the frame and integral from end to end, rear supporting wheels, supports secured to the ends of said shaft to rotate therewith, levers carrying said wheels for rotation thereto, said levers being associated with said supports, and means for holding said levers in adjusted positions relative to said supports to effect adjustment in transverse inclination of the rear portion of said frame.

13. A Vehicle comprising the combination with a supporting framework, of a road-working implement carried by said framework, wheels for the rear portion of said framework, a single transverse shaft mounted on said framework and adapted to remain permanently intact from end J to end at all times, and adjustable supporting mechanism between the end portions of said shaft and said wheels to effect variation in elevation and transverse inclination of the rear portion of said-framework relative to the road surface for road leveling and road crowning purposes.

14. A multiple bladed road planer comprising the combination with a frame, of scraper blades distributed about the lower side of said frame, front supporting wheels, drawbars supported at their-front ends on said supporting wheels and having their rear ends pivoted to said frame intermediate the ends of the latter, mechanism between said drawbar and the front end portion of said frame for effecting adjustment in elevation and transverse inclination of the front portion of said frame to position said scraper blades for road leveling or road crowning purposes, rear wheels for the rear portion of said frame, a transverse shaft mounted on said frame for rocking movements relatively thereto, sector plates secured to the ends of said shaft, crank levers associated with said sector plates and pivotally carrying said rear wheels, mechanism comprising adjustable abutments on said sector plates forwardly and rearwardly of said crank levers for holding the latter individually locked in predetermined adjusted position relative to said sector plates and thereby enable the adjust.- ment of the elevation and transverse inclination of the rear portion of said frame for such road leveling and road crowning purposes, and mechanism connected to said shaft to rock the same to vary the elevation of the rear portion of said frame.

15. A road working machine comprising the combination with a frame, of road-working mechanism carried by said frame, means for supporting the front end portion of said frame for variation'in elevation and transverse inclination for road leveling and road crowning purposes, rear wheels for said frame, crank levers pivotally carrying said wheels at their outer ends, a rock shaft'journaled on the rear portion of said frame, sector plates secured to the ends of said rock shaft, mechanism for-supporting said crank levers at their inner ends on said shafts adjacent to said sector plates for limited rotative adjustment on said shaft relative to said sector plates, mechanism comprising screws on said sector plates in position to abut against the front and rear sides of said crank levers to hold the latter in adjusted positions relative to said scraper blades and said shaft and thereby effect adjustment in elevation and transverse inclination of the rear portion of said frame for such road leveling and road crowning purposes, and actuating mechanism connected to said transverse shaft to rock the same to vary the elevation of the rear end of said frame.

FRANKLIN E. ARNDT. 

